


You're In My Spot

by Ezri_Dax



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-01-26 08:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1681364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezri_Dax/pseuds/Ezri_Dax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A person should learn to enjoy the peace they stumble across, because more often than not its the calm before a storm. And Toronto's streets aren't know for staying quiet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, Dax here. So basically I’ve decided to make this into a multi chapter fic. I’ve made changes to this chapter which I feel have made it better. There is only one significant change, which means that Holly won’t be going off to a conference. So just take that plot point out of your mind ;)   
I hope you guys stick with me and I hope you all enjoy this fic. Reviews are appreciated.  
I would also like to point out now that I haven’t seen anything from Season 5 yet, so if anything does happen in the episodes that mirrors here, it will literally be coincidence. I’ve only seen a few things from Tumblr.   
OH! And also I’m stealing a few plot points from another TV show, but I’ll give them credit at the end of the fic, just so nobody works out the plot, because I know quite a few of that fandom likes Rookie Blue too.  
I own nothing about Rookie Blue; all I do is take the characters out to play.

“You’re In My Spot.”

**************************************************************

Holly ripped open the curtains. “Rise and shine sleepy head!”

Gail pushed her face deeper into her pillow and pressed another pillow over her head. She let out a pitiful groan and curled herself further into a foetal position. “Nooo.”   
Gail pressed her eyes shut and tried to concentrate on the lingering drowsiness that still fringed on the edge of slumber. For a few seconds it seemed like she might be successful and in what must have been a drowsy moment of carelessness, she let herself relax.

But of course Holly had other plans. A dip in the bed beside her shoulder and a lighter one on the other side of her head, where she imagined Holly’s arm to be, told her sleepy senses that Holly had sat beside her. A fresh and slightly summer berry fragrance hit her nose and somewhere in a vaguely aware part of her mind she registered that Holly had probably just showered.

Holly poked her shoulder. “Come on you, time to get up.” A muffled groan and then a hand snaked out from under the covers; clumsily searching for hers. A second later it founds hers and wrapped itself around her own. The hand then disappeared back under the covers, trapping it between a sleep-warmed chest and arm. “Stay. Bed. Warm. Sleeeep.”

Holly rolled her eyes and removed the pillow covering Gail’s face with surprisingly little resistance, to find pale cerulean eye half moodily, half sluggishly glaring at her. She tossed the down the end of the bed. “Mmm, nope. It’s already eleven. Come on.” 

“It’s Sunday, Holly. Sunday is sleep day.”

Holly grinned and squeezed their hands. “A fact I’m well aware of. However, it’s pretty much the first day off we’ve had together in a while. So get up. I want to spend it with you.” It took a second but she saw the information sink in as Gail’s eyes began to lose its drowsy, grumpy edge and take on a harder, more spirited wakefulness. 

It was true. The two had been recently been working extremely hard with constant murder cases and patrolling the streets. Gail had been on a mix of double shifts and night shifts for the past week and half, leaving her either utterly exhausted from work to spend time with Holly or that she’d finish just as Holly started. In fact they’d barely seen each other in that time. Particularly since Homicide had uncovered bodies connecting to a cold case, keeping Holly almost tied to the morgue in an effort to figure things out. The best they’d managed to do together was a hurried dinner and kiss one late night before Gail started a shift in between a few text conversations. They hadn’t even managed to sleep in the same bed much either, much to both their disappointments. Gail hadn’t even felt like she could barge in to Holly’s home in the middle of the night to sleep, despite Holly’s reassurances that that was why she gave her a key in the first place.

Holly leaned forwards, her near-dry hair brushing across Gail’s shoulders and cheek, letting Gail inhale more summer-berry scents. Hey voice dropped an octave. “If you get up now, I’ll make you breakfast.”

Gail turned to look at Holly and then shifted her whole body to face her, her grip on Holly’s hand falling away as she sat up and leant back against her elbows. She narrowed her gaze at Holly, who merely stared amusedly back at her, and silently judged her proposal.   
Gail huffed almost petulantly. “Fine. But it better be good.” 

Holly smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Good.” She dropped a kiss on Gail’s lips and then went to stand up.

A pale arm shot out and pulled Holly down by the waist, lips quickly silencing the sound of surprise. Holly’s hands fell on either side of Gail’s head and one quickly wove into her hair as Gail ran her tongue across Holly’s lower lip, deepening the kiss. Holly moaned and relaxed her body against Gail, sinking down against the blonde as a pale hand slide under the back of her shirt.

Finally their kiss ended but instead of pulling away Holly dipped her head forward, her nose nudging against Gail’s until their foreheads rested gently together. Gail pressed one last kiss to Holly’s slightly parted lips before leaning back down against the pillows, her voice soft. “Thanks Hol.”

Holly’s mouth curled up lopsidedly, her own voice just as gentle. “You’re welcome.” Then Holly tapped Gail’s belly and stood up before Gail could react to the change. “Now get up. I’ve got plans for you Peck.” 

And with that Holly turned on her heel and strode out of the bedroom, leaving Gail a little confused but perceptive enough to appreciate how Holly had apparently only felt to need to wear an oversized plaid button up and panties today.

*********************************************

Holly smiled to herself and tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she reach up for two mugs. She couldn’t remember the last time she was just so happy… so pointlessly happy. Nothing in particular had sparked such an emotion; in fact her life had been pretty constant. She’d helped solves cases at work as usual; she’d hung out with her friends as usual, she was even close to publishing yet another pathological journal, which whilst it gave her a sense of accomplishment, wasn’t nearly enough to explain her contentness that she felt.

No, she knew the reason as to why she was so happy. It all came down to one Gail Peck; the snarkiest, most standoffish yet fascinating person she knew. And she was totally Ok with that.

She flicked the switch on the kettle and turned around to lean against the counter, just in time to see Gail shuffle blearily towards the living room before falling gracelessly headfirst into the cushiony depths of the couch.

The corners of Holly’s mouth twitched upwards again. Yes, she was just unabashedly happy to have her blonde curmudgeon around.  
She saw Gail, shift around on the couch and hook her hands behind her head, no doubt getting lost in her head. Holly smiled again and turned back to the counter again, reaching for the fruit bowl. Taking a few grapes in the palm of her hand she popped one in her mouth and ambled over to join her girlfriend.

*********************************************

Gail loves Sundays. She enjoys Saturdays too, but Sundays are her favourite. On Sundays there’s no sense of obligation to do anything productive. There’s no niggling voice in the back of her mind telling her to get off of her ass and do something worthwhile, no need to hurriedly finish a report or even, her favourite really, no need to even get out of bed. Indeed, a day could be quite happily spent lounging around in her underwear with no deliberation or direction as to how she would spend her day. She could relax all day with Holly and just revel in that comfort.

And that brought her thoughts back to Holly. Or more specifically; Holly’s sofa. 

It was a soft, leather model with large, plushy cushions that allowed a person to simply sit down and sink in and forget about their stress, if just for a moment. It was a seriously comfortable couch. 

It was the one thing in Holly’s apartment Gail had laid claim to, unashamedly wielding her girlfriend status as an excuse to hog the couch.  
Aside from immense comfort, it was the perfect distance between the kitchen and the bedroom, her two other favourite places to be, and it was positioned in such a way that no light from any part of the house could reflect off of the TV screen offensively into her eyes. (She wasn’t sure if Holly did this intentionally, she hardly used the TV as much as she should, at least in Gail’s opinion) It was situated in the best possible place really. And because of these completely justifiable reasons, Gail had immediately demanded claim to the couch declaring it ‘her spot’, leaving Holly on more than one occasion to stare down at her with a bemused crooked grin.

Kind of like the one Holly was giving her now. “Straight from the bed to the couch, huh?”

The corner of Gail’s mouth twitched upwards as pushed herself into more of a sitting-up position, watching as Holly sauntered over towards her. “Mmm, well some asshole dragged me out of bed. Figured I might as well go to the next best place to hang out.” 

Holly gasped and grasped her chest in faux horror. “Are you saying you don’t want to spend time with me?”

Gail tilted her head to the side and pretended to inspect her nails. “Well you know, I’ve got such a heavy schedule planned. I’m not sure I can fit you in.” Her eyes flickered to Holly and back as she fought to hide her slowly growing smile. 

Holly raised an eyebrow but Gail could see her eyes crinkled lightly. “Oh really?” She flopped down at the other end of the couch and popped another grape into her mouth. “Well, in that case I guess you won’t have time to eat here then.”

Gail opened her mouth but then narrowed her eyes. Score one to Holly Stewart. 

God knows that if there is one thing Gail loves about life, it’s the food. Especially Holly-made food. She doesn’t know how she does it, but Holly’s like a Gourmet chef and a hot, sexy librarian looking Pathologist all rolled into one. And Gail really likes her food. Like, really likes it.  
She waved away the comment nonchalantly. “I’m sure I can manage. In fact since I’m so busy today, I should probably leave.” Gail sat up and stretched her arms above her, acutely aware of Holly eyeing the thin strip of exposed skin her top left when distanced from her PJ bottoms.

Holly licked her lips and looked away before placing the last grape in her mouth. “Yeah, why not. I mean, I have things to do today anyway.” Holly stood up breezily and went to turn back to the kitchen but then a hand shot out and yanked her back for the second time that day. Immediately warm lips captured her own in a less than chaste kiss whilst two hands moved to cradle her face and curl delightfully in her hair. It wasn’t until they both pulled back that Holly realised she was, for all intense and purposes, essentially straddling the blonde, much like only a few minutes prior. 

Gail slowly opened her eyes finding Holly’s already open and looking own at her somewhat tenderly. “Hey.”

Warm, brown eyes crinkled imperceptibly. “Hey yourself. You know you should probably stop surprising me like that though. Surprise kisses like that could break something eventually.” She paused and leant forward. “Not that I don’t enjoy it.”

Gail wrapped her hands around the back of Holly’s shoulders, pulling her back own for another, this time chaste, kiss. “Psh, you love it.” Gail licked her lips thoughtfully.  
“Huh, you taste of grape.”

Holly sat back, casually linking their hands together and rolled her eyes. “Oh I wonder why.”

Gail swatted at Holly’s bare thigh with their joined hands. “Shut up Holly.” But she mirrored Holly’s smirk anyway. “You know, kinda rude you didn’t share.”

“Well if someone wasn’t such a brat this morning, then maybe they’d have got one.”

Gail glared. “Just the one? Nice to know how much I mean to you.”

Holly chuckled. “Mmm, well, I did offer to make you breakfast.”

Gail was almost ready to pout. But Holly had said that. “Oh yeah, well where is this wondrous breakfast of yours?” She leaned up a little and looked towards the kitchen. “I’m hungry.”

This time it was Holly who swiped Gail’s thigh. “Don’t be such a brat.”

Gail smirked and opened her mouth to retaliate when the kettle’s whistle blew, alerting the apartment that its job was done. There was a pause. “I swear to God, Holly, if you don’t get a new kettle then I will actually throw that thing out the window!”

Holly laughed, her hands unintentionally squeezing Gail’s hands a little tighter. “What, why?”

“Because that thing sounds like a dying cat. Seriously, how do you live with that thing?”

“Quite easily, really.”

Gail narrowed her eyes but then with an exaggerated whine, she untangled a hand from Holly’s and dramatically threw an arm across her face. “Holly… Make it stop.”

Holly chucked and pulled back her arm to reveal Gail’s scowling, pouty face. “It’s not that bad.”

“At this point in the morning, hell yes it is!”

Holly tilted her head to the side and raised an amused brow and checked her watch. “Gail, its 11.20.” I don’t think you’re going to die.”

“What’s your point?

Holly smiled crookedly and leaned forward a little, shifting her hips to accommodate the new position. “My point is, oh lover of mine,” She punctuated that with a kiss. “Is that if you still want breakfast, before the afternoon starts” She shifted her hips again and sat upright, her fingers resting at the edge of Gail’s top. “Then you’re going to have to get off of your ass and make me a tea.” Holly pulled back and grinned. 

Gail gave her an unimpressed raised brow. “Er, Hol. You do realise you’re on top, right?” She grabbed Holly around the shoulders and pulled her back down, a little surprised by the small amount of resistance, until they were pressed snuggly together, faces inches apart. Gail’s arms stayed relaxed around her shoulders and her voice dropped an octave or two, her tone challenging as her breath washed warm against Holly’s face. “Can’t do anything when you’re on top now can I?”

Good god but Gail was impudent sometimes. 

It took but a second for Holly to close the gap, their mouths meeting in a hot mesh of sliding lips and lustfully closed eyes. Holly’s glasses were pushed askew as noses playfully bumped together and Gail’s tongue swept across her lower lip, begging for entrance. A moan broke through, but from whom she didn’t know, Gail’s hands tangling in her hair however felt wonderful. Her own hands were brushing soft circles just under the hem of Gail’s T-shirt, slowly pushing their way up her ribs. How they got there in the first place she didn’t know but she was vaguely aware of her increasing need to breath. 

Holly broke away breathlessly, pleased at how Gail’s eyes were still only half lidded with desire, and leaned forward, her breath floating across Gail’s cheek to her ear where her voice became distinctly more sultry. Husky even. “You love it when I’m on top.”

She felt Gail shiver beside her and almost nuzzled her way back to those exceptionally kissable lips. However Holly was one to make a point. And she wanted tea at some point today.   
Suddenly Holly pushed herself back and plopped herself back against the other side of the couch, leaving a confused Gail to blink rapidly back into cognition. She readjusted her glasses and poked Gail in the side. “Now mush woman, go make me tea.”

Gail’s momentary bewilderment was perfect. It was like she was still half-lost in the kiss and quite comically her mouth had dropped open like a goldfish’s, but she recovered quickly as Gail always does. Gail glared and pointed an accusatory finger at Holly. “That. Was mean.”

Holly grinned crookedly but said nothing, fully enjoying how she’d managed to, even momentarily, discombobulate the blonde.

Gail crossed her arms haughtily and glowered down at Holly with a sort of rancour that only Gail seemed to conjure so easily on command. “Like I’d make you that tea now.”  
Holly’s smile grew wider and she tilted her head to the side, silently daring Gail to refuse. Seconds went by in a brief battle of wills, where Gail’s scowl and flexing jaw was met by Holly’s increasing amusement until Gail unceremoniously threw up her hands and pushed herself up off the couch. She shot another quick glare back at Holly. “You’re lucky that I like you, Stewart.” And she stalked off to the kitchen.

Holly chuckled again and shifted forward into Gail’s recently vacated space, eyes sliding closed as she relished the warmth left behind. She loved how at home Gail is here, how after several months of dating it actually surprises her just how much she really misses her blonde cop hanging around. Holly has always been an independent woman, used to relying on herself for almost everything. She’d happily give and receive affection, and routinely does on a daily basis, but to need someone as much as she seemed to need Gail… that, that was abnormal experience for her.   
But one she really didn’t seem to mind all that much. 

She heard Gail grumpily pour the water and loudly stir the tea in what Holly is sure is Gail’s not so subtle way of saying 'you’d better appreciate'. And Holly does. She appreciates everything about Gail. 

Well, most things. Her habit of leaving dirty laundry for Holly to clean could do with improvement.

Holly kicked her feet up and relaxed back against the couch’s arm cushions, mirroring Gail’s earlier position and listened to her girlfriend’s footsteps leading back towards her.  
Gail rounded the edge of the sofa with a steaming mug held tightly in her left hand and looked down at Holly, her expression pensive. After a few seconds she spoke.  
“You’re in my spot.”

Holly blinked and kept her voice purposefully quiescent. She knew exactly how Gail got whenever she happened to accidently (or more often than not, entirely deliberately) sit in her spot. 

“Oh really?”

“Yes Holly, my spot. You’re in it.” Gail made no move to hand Holly her tea. 

Holly tipped back her head and regarded Gail. Straight posture, no smile, hand still tightly gripped around the handle of the mug and a glint in her eye. A wonderful glint that promised drastic action unless Holly moved.  
Holly kept up her air of feigned ignorance. “Oh am I? Well, you know, it’s more my spot really, since I, you know, own the place.”

Holly stretched out; arms above her head before sinking back into the cushions again, deliberately wriggling her ass to make an impression. She could see Gail’s jaw tick and her eyes narrow almost dangerously. Gail put the mug down, just out of arms reach from Holly, and folded her arms. 

“Holly.”

“Gail.”

A taut silence stretched between the two. Gail’s challenging steely eyes locked with Holly’s dark amused ones, until one of Gail’s perfectly sculpted brows lifted. “Fine.”  
And with that she dove forward, climbing on top and over Holly, poking and pushing as she curled and hustled herself onto the sofa. She shoved herself deep between the sofa’s back cushions and Holly before finally settling down with a glare, only to find Holly grinning down at her and her limbs somewhat tangled with Holly’s. Her arms were squashed against Holly’s shoulder and her own chest and her legs had somehow become tangled with Holly’s. It was actually quite comfortable really.   
Gail scowled up almost childishly from Holly’s shoulder, her voice muffled. “My spot.”

Holly chuckles again because she knows Gail’s only exaggerating her bratty-ness and it’s quite amusing, really. Well to her it is; she’s not sure how well anyone else might take to it.

She shuffled down the sofa until she was at the same level as Gail and felt Gail’s arms slide across her abdomen and behind her shoulders pulling at her to face Gail. There’s a small, cocky smile tugging at Gail’s lips and she doesn’t look the least bit apologetic as to how she got there, reclining in the most comfortable part of the sofa.  
Holly mirrored that smile crookedly and gives her a poke in the stomach.

“Hey!”

Gail went to poke her back but Holly caught her hand and laughed, entwining their fingers as she did. “I’ll make you a deal. You can have this spot whenever you like, at any time of day, any day of the week, on one condition.” Holly cleared her throat and looked away, inadvertently using their joined hands to adjust her glasses and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before looking Gail in the eye. “You have to move in with me.”  
Gail froze. Her muscles tensed and her thumb which had vaguely been stroking Holly’s stopped. Something flashed behind Gail’s eyes and Holly could almost feel how fast she was withdrawing back into herself.

Holly immediately berated herself. She’d pushed too far too quickly and now Gail was running away and pulling back. She’d moved too fast and she knew not to push with Gail, she knew, and she did it anyway. Words burst out of her mouth in an uncontrollable attempt to backtrack.

“Gail- No,-” Holly dropped Gail’s hand and gripped at her shoulder, almost begging with her eyes to understand.  
“I didn’t mean that you had to- It’s just that- I mean, you’re practically over here most of the time anyway and I, I don’t know, it just made sense- …I’m really really sorry Gail, Okay? You don’t have to ans-”

She was shut up by a quick kiss. Gail pulled back and ran her tongue over her lower lip looking slightly abashed, but unguardedly genuine. “Okay.” 

Holly didn’t even realise she’d left her mouth open. The word had been so softly spoken that Holly honestly wasn’t sure if she’d heard her right. “What?”

Gail smiled and brought her hand back to gentle squeeze at the hand on her shoulder. “Okay.”

Holly blinked. “Really?” Hesitantly she searched Gail’s face for some kind of insincerity or need to backpedal but found nothing of the sort. In fact what she saw was – dare she say it – was a… pleased Gail, a doubtless Gail, a Gail with a small smile tugging irrepressibly at her lips. 

Gail rolled her eyes. “Yeah come on Hols, get with the programme.”

Holly wasn’t one to feel insecure; in fact her self-confidence was perhaps one of her better traits. But this kind of decision was weighted, it could affect their relationship drastically by either forcing a rift between them or, the more desirable option, allow them to become closer and progress their relationship. Obviously she hoped for the latter.  
Holly could feel her own face breaking into a smile, but couldn't help but ask one more time. “You’re really saying yes?” 

Gail answered her with an eye roll and a kiss. 

“Oh, well Okay then.” 

Gail smirked and kissed her again. And again. And again. Until their kisses lengthened and deepened and their tongues met deliciously. Hands smoothed and gripped as they ran rampant over their bodies and Holly found herself being pulled unceremoniously on top of Gail causing her to push a thigh between Gail’s legs. A throaty moan came from one or both of them and Holly felt a hand slip underneath her shirt, stroking up over hard earn abs and soft skin until it reached a smooth breast. Holly pulled back and gasped, panting as her head fell forwards onto Gail’s shoulder.  
Gail smirked and tucked a few strands of hair behind Holly’s ear and left her hand there, stroking at silken tresses. “Well you’re kinda stuck with me now.”

Holly shut her up with a hard kiss. To hear that from someone, especially from someone as unpredictable and caustic as Gail, was monumental. It was Gail’s own brand of promise to stay for her, to make their relationship work and to make sure the metaphorical cat stayed on the ground. 

She pushed her thigh up further into Gail’s crotch, both gasping together when Gail squeezed her breast in reaction. Their eyes locked and an unspoken understanding rippled between them. 

Holly rolled off of Gail and grabbed her hand, practically dragging her off to her- their bedroom.

 

They didn’t resurface for a good number of hours.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, people wanted an extended fic, and here it is. Don’t worry there is an actual plot and there will be more fluff and also drama to contend with (don’t worry, no relationship drama) so I hope you guys enjoy it and will stick with me throughout this.
> 
> By the way, I haven’t got much experience with writing any of these characters, so if they seem out of character to you, please speak up and I’ll do my best to set it right.
> 
> Again, if some people missed it, I’ve made changes to the previous chapter. The main thing to know is that Holly is now NOT going to a conference. But it might be worth a reread just so a few things make a bit more sense.

You’re In My Spot – Chapter 2

******************************************************

Holly looked over at Gail as she drove through the streets of Toronto and smiled. Gail was doing her thing where she was off in her own little world, vaguely aware that reality was passing her by. She was also humming a little tune to herself, nothing specific to any song that Holly recognised but the tune itself was quite relaxing. Unsurprising really since Gail could actually sing really well, a fact she found out when a drunken Gail dragged her to a karaoke bar.

She flicked the indicator left as stopped at a red light and looked over at Gail again, just noticing how relaxed she seemed to be. Her usual scowl hadn’t appeared yet; in fact her face had a sort of relaxed happiness about it. Holly smiled again and pressed down on the accelerator when the green light appeared. It took a lot to get Gail to be friendly in the mornings (Although Holly quickly worked out that shoving a coffee in her face did the trick pretty well) in fact Holly could probably count on one hand all the times Gail actually woke up happy. Most of which involved wake-up sex. 

But this morning was different. They’d both woken up around the same time to each other with Gail unashamedly laying naked and half on top of Holly, with her arms and a leg wrapped possessively around the brunette. Gail had then stretched languorously over her, sleep warmed skin sliding deliciously against sleep warmed skin, until she was completely on top of her girlfriend. Her hands had slipped under Holly’s shoulders whilst her hips had shifted to rest between her thighs, and her chin settled down atop Holly’s equally naked chest. 

It was the way Gail smiled at her that morning that made it so special. The way her eyes had lazily opened to meet hers with a languid smile. The way she’d said hello with a kiss to her chest, her chin and then finally her lips, which was so soft and pleasurable that Holly had had to weave her hands in Gail’s hair to silently demand more. The way Gail had slipped a hand back to cup Holly’s jaw gently, and then trail down her body to thumb soft circles around her hip bone. How she had then kissed her way down Holly’s neck, pausing to nip at the once place that always made Holly’s head roll back and how her hand had then slipped between their bodies towards the juncture of her legs and-  
Holly coughed and quickly braked, bringing the car sharply back under the legal speed limit. She hoped that the flush of heat across her chest wasn’t as visible as it felt. Gail, however, didn’t react, she just swayed the extra momentum away, so lost in her head she was. 

Holly briefly entertained the idea that Gail was remembering their early morning trist just as she was, but then Gail would likely be staring at her. Or perhaps Holly just hadn’t noticed it yet; Gail could be oddly stealthy when she wanted to. 

Holly cleared her throat and turned into the police car parking lot. But yes, Gail had most certainly woken up happy this morning, a good sign, if any, that asking Gail to move in with her was a good idea. She smiled again.

***************************************************

Gail blinked when the car came to stop and she recognised the surroundings. She turned to face Holly who pushed her glasses back up her nose and smiled back at her. “Thanks for dropping me off.”

The corner of Holly’s mouth quirked up. “Like I would let you go in alone this morning.”

Gail smirked. “Feeling a little needy, Stewart?”

“Maybe, but who was it that practically smothered me this morning?”

“Oh please, you loved it.”

“That does not take away anything from my point.”

Gail rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She then leaned over to kiss her briefly before reaching for the car door and pushing it open. Just as she stood up, Holly called her back, leaning forward over the passenger seat. 

“Hey, we doing lunch today?”

Gail looked back and thought for a moment. Usually she didn’t get a lot of time off for lunch but every now and again she managed to squeeze in time to visit Holly. “Yeah, should be able to. Unless some asshole pisses me off.”

This time Holly rolled her eyes. “Which totally never happens, ever.”

“What? It’s not my fault everyone’s a douchebag.”

“Gail…”

Gail smiled and leaned against the side of the car. “I’ll text and swing by later.”

Holly grinned back and nodded. “Good. Now get off my car and go to work.”

Gail huffed and shifted herself off of the vehicle. “Your affection for me is mind blowing.”

Holly chuckled and shifted back on her own seat again. “Almost as mind blowing as your affection for my couch.”

“Uh, our couch I do believe, Holly, get it right.”

Before Holly could retort with a smart reply Gail pushed the car door shut, hiding a smile as she turned towards the precinct. She couldn’t wait to finish her shift.

Holly wound down the window and called after her. “Be safe!” Gail smiled and waved back without turning around, indicating she’d heard.   
Holly grinned and turned on the car engine again before pausing and calling out again. “I love you!” and then as an after-thought, “Bring Chinese for lunch!”

***************************************************

“Alright people, let’s go out there and come back in one piece.” Frank finished. 

All the officers in the Parade collectively stood up and started moving. Gail stayed sitting and stretched her arms above her head before looking over to where the rosters were. They were already surrounded by cops, no doubt looking for their station or partner for the day. She thought about joining the gaggle but sat back instead. Why waste a good mood by getting immediately annoyed by other peoples’ excessive BO and lack of personal boundaries? She could wait until there was space.

“Hey Gail!” Or not. Chris waved as he walked towards her, dodging a leaving officer as he did so. “We’re together today.”

“Okay.” She nodded and followed him out the room, towards the car parking lot. Apparently she was on patrol today, not bad. Chris was a good partner, a nice guy and not too annoying, also not bad. Sure he liked to talk a bit, but he’d leave her to day-dream too on occasion which gave her a great opportunity to keep thinking about Holly and their relationship. 

Gail smiled as a particularly hot image of a naked Holly flashed through her mind. The sex had been mind-blowing.

Yes, Chris was a good partner, not an Oliver Shaw by any means, but good enough. Plus, if it meant steering clear of McNally and Princess Rainbow-Cuddle-Muffin, who couldn’t for the life of them shut up no matter how many times Gail insulted them, then Chris was a good substitute.   
Things with Andy were better now, not perfect, but they were back to a workable relationship at least (she blamed Holly’s influence).

“Uh, why are you smiling?” Chris’ voice pulled her out of her mind. 

“I can smile whenever I like Diaz.”

“Yeah but, usually you’re a bitch in the mornings. You right now,” He gestured over at her. “You’re all happy. It’s weird.” 

Her smile dropped and she curled her lip. Gail took it all back; Chris was just as bad as the rest of them. “Ever think that that’s because I have to deal with your stupid face in the mornings?” 

He pushed the door open to the squad car lot, letting Gail march past before following her out.

Chris sighed but didn’t push further; instead letting them both get into the 1504 squad car; Gail in the passenger’s seat. They drove off in silence for a short while with Gail glaring out of the window until Chris sighed again. “Gail.” Her eyes flicked over at him in irritation. “Gail, c’mon, I’m sorry.” She snorted and turned to look out the window again. “It’s just I haven’t seen you much, you know? I miss our game nights.”

“Oh, and I can’t be happy without you, is that it?” Gail snapped.

He shook his head. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He looked back over at her but she ignored him and was steadfastly staring out onto the streets. He cleared his throat. “I miss you Gail.” He stopped at a red light and looked over at her again. “I mean, I haven’t seen you properly in ages. Are you even coming back to the apartment tonight? You haven’t been back since for ever.”

“I’ve been back all week, Chris.”

The light turned green and Chris had to turn back to the road. “Yeah but I haven’t seen you much outside of work, you haven’t even been to the Penny much.” She felt a small pang of guilt in her chest, he had a point. The guilt deepened when she realised that the only reason she’d go back home again would be to pick up her stuff and leave. She’d tell them about moving in with Holly some other time, or maybe just let them work it out for themselves. She hadn’t decided yet.

She sighed and tried to let her irritation ebb away (Yet another of Holly’s influences no doubt, she’d had no problem holding petty grudges before.) “We’ll hang out soon, Okay? Just … not tonight.”

“Why not? We can have a Mortal Kombat play off with Dov and tequila and pizza. It’ll be great.”

Gail turned to look at him, her face almost apologetic. “I already have plans with Holly.” She wasn’t finished celebrating yet. “But we’ll do it some other time, okay?”

“You know, you’re spending a lot of time with Holly.”

“Because she’s my girlfriend, maybe?”

“Yeah I know but-”

She shot him an exasperated look. “But what? She’s my girlfriend, I like her, therefore I spend time with her. Not a hard concept to grasp Chris.”

He grunted but didn’t follow up immediately, preferring to readjust his grip on the steering wheel. “Fine, but we’re hanging out soon.” 

They fell back into a silence again; decidedly less terse than before, when Gail spoke again. “How do you suppose you destroy a kettle? Do you, like, throw it against a wall or something?” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! What if you hit it with a hammer? A really big hammer? That’s got to do some damage.”

“Gail, What-”

The radio burst into life. “1504? There’s domestic disturbance over at 64 Richmond Street West, we need to get it sorted out.”

He shot her a confused look but picked up the radio. “1504, we’re on our way.” He put the radio back down and shook his head as his flicked the indicator right. “I do not understand how your mind works Gail, I really don’t.”

She sighed. “C’mon let’s just go sort out these assholes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Chris, I really do. He’s a sweet, lovely guy who really does care for Gail. However, I just hate the fact that he, who was a BOYFRIEND, just can’t see past Gail’s initial cold exterior, and even comes to expect it. I mean did you see how much of a butthole he was in 5x04? First Dov, then him, and I am not ok with this.
> 
> Sorry, I felt the need to share. I just have a lot of feelings Okay? Gail is just so misunderstood.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s Chapter 3, I hope you like it as much as the previous two and I hope you’ll continue to stick with me through this thing.

Gail sat down on Holly’s desk and shovelled a forkful of noodles into her mouth.

“Charming.” Holly sat back in her chair, and rolled her eyes when Gail grinned messily back at her. “You know, I think a four year old has better manners than you.”

Gail speared a piece of chicken and pointed at Holly with it. “Would a four year old go out to the best Chinese place in town and buy delicious food for their girlfriend?” She shoved the chicken into her mouth and gave her a look as if to make her point.

“No, but a four year old would better at sharing than you. C’mon give me a bite.” Holly moved to reach for Gail’s fork but she petulantly whipped it away before Holly could take it.

“Uh, no? You have your own.” Gail swallowed and nodded to the pile beside her where several other cartons filled with various foods sat.

Holly looked over to where the rest of Gail’s lunch purchase sat still inside the plastic. Crackers, dumplings and some rice dish all looked, and smelt, pretty good but… they weren’t quite what she wanted just yet. She looked at Gail right in the eye. “Yeah, but I want chicken and noodles.” She held out her hand. “So cough up.”

Gail raised a cynical brow. “You really don’t want me to do that.”

Holly ignored her and sat back again, her eyes narrowing challengingly behind her glasses. “Gail. I’m hungry and I want noodles. So, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

A moment passed.

Then Gail simply curled more noodles around her fork and leisurely brought it up to her lips. Slowly she then wrapped her mouth around the loaded prongs, all whilst maintaining eye contact with Holly. With a defiant smirk she pulled the fork away clean and started chewing.

That just wasn’t going to fly with Holly. She leapt forward for the frontal assault and tried to grab the takeout box from out of Gail’s hands, but the blonde was just step ahead of her and whisked it away and above her head. From her position Gail was taller than Holly so directly reaching for them again wouldn’t work.

Holly took one look at Gail’s enigmatic, half mouth-full smile and narrowed her eyes. 

Time for a change in tactics. 

She moved forward again only this time she didn’t immediately reach for the noodles. No, instead she somehow used both Gail and her desk to pull herself onto Gail’s lap with her knees landing awkwardly either side of Gail’s thighs. She paused to shoot her disgruntled girlfriend a quick lopsided grin before using her newly gain height advantage to again reach her for lunch whilst laughingly deflecting off Gail’s defending arm and garbled protests. “Give it up Peck!”

Gail spluttered but managed to swallow in time to laugh and stretched her arm back further; leaning backwards to avoid Holly’s grabbing hand. “This is assault of a police officer, I could have you arrested for this!” Her back hit the desk and a few noodles spilt on to the floor from the way Gail’s hand was awkwardly held. Holly determinedly followed, crawling up Gail’s body to grasp further, but her fingers only managed to touch the outside, whilst accidently giving Gail a particularly fantastic view of her breasts. 

“You can’t arrest me if you have no evidence!”

A surprisingly strong arm snaked its way around Holly’s waist and pulled her down causing her to lose her balance and fall against Gail’s chest, her hand pulled back by the motion. Holly gasped and looked down at Gail, a lock of hair escaping her sensible pony-tail. “I can totally plant evidence against you.”

Holly let out a half laugh and grinned crookedly. “Gail, you do know what my job is, right? I could remove any trace of evidence against me and pile it all against you.” Holly’s smirked, her eyes flickering to the noodles again before Gail could respond. But then she froze, arm half stretched out, reaching for the box again. “Oh God, Brian, this is not what it looks like.”

Gail stiffened and her eyes widened in shock as all the happy, banterous feelings immediately dissipated. She lurched to stand up and Holly was jolted awkwardly back onto her feet, only fleetingly left off-balance as Gail whirled around to face their unintentional voyeur. 

Only to find an empty door way.

Tanned hands stole the take-out box easily from her hands and Holly fell back into her chair laughing, the momentum causing her to roll back a bit on the wheels of her chair, as she held onto her prize. “Oh Gail, you are too easy sometimes.” 

Gail slowly turned to face her girlfriend, her expression transitioning from shock and confusion to understanding and then flat out glaring in a matter of a few seconds. She crossed her arms. “You… are beyond a horrible person, Holly.”

Holly just gave her a smug grin and mimicked Gail from earlier, forking up a bunch of noodles and making a show of enjoying the food as she chewed. “Mm, you know Gail, this is really good. You should try some.” 

She chuckled as Gail petulantly plopped herself down on the desk again and scornfully looked down at her girlfriend. “You’re a horrible, dirty, Chinese food stealing thief, Holly.”  
Holly just ate another forkful; her eyes crinkling in amusement and Gail glowered at her. “And I don’t like you anymore.”

“Yes you do. And remember, I’m a horrible, dirty, Chinese food stealing thief that you agreed to move in with yesterday.” Holly pointed out.

“Yeah, remind me why I’m doing that again?”

Holly’s phone rang and she shot Gail a good-humoured yet apologetic look as she went to answer it, putting down her lunch as she did so. “Because you love me and I’m awesome,- Doctor Stewart.”

Gail huffed and immediately stole back her noodles, childishly making a show of shovelling another forkful in her mouth. Holly simply rolled her eyes and flicked at her thigh as she listened for a moment to her phone.

“-I’ll be right there.” Holly sighed and put her phone down. “Gail, I’m sorry, but I’ve been called out.”

Gail swallowed and tried not to let her disappointment show as Holly then got up to find her jacket and forensics bag. She’d been looking forward to this lunch break ever since Holly had dropped her off at the station that morning. “Oh, well that’s okay. It’s your job. Just means more food for me.”

Gail twirled her fork idly as she watched as Holly slipped on her jacket and flipped her hair out from under the collar before tapping her jacket pockets to listen for her keys. “I’ll see you later though, right?”

Satisfied she had everything; Holly moved over to where Gail was and gave her a quick kiss, her hand giving Gail’s a quick squeeze. “Yeah. I finish around six today, and, we live together now.” Holly smiled crookedly. “You don’t have to ask me that again.”

“Oh.” Gail’s face visibly brightened with the realisation. “Oh! Then I’ll totally see you later.”

Holly smirked. “Yeah you will… Roomie.”

Gail’s own phone went off and she huffed irritably as she went to answer it. “Don’t call me that Hol, and- What Chris? I’m still on lunch break.”

Holly chuckled and squeezed Gail’s hand one more time before exiting her office, leaving Gail to peevishly listen to Chris.  
“Gail… I- We have to go.” She heard Chris take a deep breath. “A cops been found dead.”

**********************************************************************

Chris and Gail strode quickly into the warehouse, only stopping to survey the area, finding it packed full of people of different types already. Forensic teams, rookies, detectives and more all milled or moved about the area, either doing their jobs or awaiting for some sort of instruction or explanation from a superior, much like they currently were.  
The warehouse had a large space with low slung, rotten beams and half broken industrial lighting overhead. It allowed only a modicum of lighting in addition to whatever light came in from outside through doors, windows or various cracks in the building work. Old crates and rusted storage containers were scattered around the place making manoeuvring about more difficult, especially with so many people around the crime scenes. 

Gail grunted lightly, to her knowledge, until now, for a long time this place was thought to be abandoned or at least unused. 

Frank’s voice drifted over the workplace din and Gail watched as Frank warred with a guy who, if the camera strapped to his back was any indication, appeared to be some kind of reporter. Gail picked out Sam, Traci and Oliver from those surrounding him, their faces grim and strained, like most others around the scene. No one liked investigating the death of a dead cop.

Gail signalled to Chris to join them when a forensic photographer roughly pushed past her, headed to the crime scene itself. She spun on her heal, glaring at him. “Hey, watch it!”  
The man muttered his apologies but ducked away before even finishing his sentence. So much for sincerity. 

Gail’s scowl followed the guy for a few seconds before fleetingly falling on the dead body itself. From what she could see from the people constantly moving through her line of vision the victim looked as if to be in his late-twenties with cropped blond hair and an ashen face. Blood was plastered to his face, dried after trickling down the side of his forehead and nose. He didn’t look particularly familiar to her.

Inwardly she was glad she didn’t recognise the guy, it made dealing with this kind of thing a lot easier. Her mind travelled back five months or so to where both Chloe and Sam had been hospitalised, and just how emotionally unstable she’d been around that time. She really hadn’t handled that well.

Chris nudged her, pulling her out of her head and nodded over at the crime scene again. “Hey, Holly’s here.”

And sure enough she was. She watched as Holly stepped under the tape line; briefly exchange a few words with a colleague before squatting beside the body, pulling on her latex gloves as she did so.

Gail hitched a thumb over to Holly. “I’m gunna go see what’s going on.” Chris nodded and after a moments deliberation followed her over, clearly at a loss at what else to do for the moment.

Stopping just before the tapeline Gail leaned against a wall with her arms crossed and called out to her girlfriend. “So, how come I got here first? You left before me.”

Holly looked up to focus on her girlfriend’s voice and gave her a quick but genuine smile before focusing back on the body again. “Well Officer, strangely enough I tend to follow the traffic laws.”

Gail snorted. Holly was notorious for speeding. She’d looked over to see Holly speeding more times than she should ignore as a police officer. It was seriously a good thing that she liked the Forensic pathologist.

Gail turned her attention to the corpse. Inspecting it from further away had made the wound look to be a clean shot. But now that Gail was up close she could see just how large the bullet hole was, and judging by the large pool of mostly dried blood underneath the victim’s head, she could only imagine the mess that the back of his head might look like.  
She looked back to his face again, noting the glassy blue of his eyes and stubble on his chin. She narrowed her eyes, looking just a bit harder at the man. Maybe he did carry a vague sense of familiarity about him, but she couldn’t place it. If he was a cop however, it was entirely likely she’d seen him around the precinct a couple times and just not thought much of it.

She watched as Holly gently patted down the victim and finally reached deep into a side pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She turned it around a few times inspecting it before sealing it into an evidence bag and continuing her investigation. Satisfied he wasn’t carrying anything more, Holly moved up to his face, bending over his body to take a proper look at the bullet wound. She lightly dabbed at the wound with her gloved fingers, gently probing ashen flesh about in what Gail assumed was Holly’s way of mentally measuring the diameter of the entry point. 

Nodding to herself Holly then tipped his head gently side to side, searching for any irregularities before resting him softly back on the ground again and feeling down his chest.  
It was quite surreal watching Holly, Gail decided. Her girlfriend was meticulous in almost everything she did, from trivial tasks such as washing-up, to something much more serious like investigating a loss of life. It was like Holly had this innate perfectionist instinct to be the best she could be in any situation, a trait Gail certainly didn’t share, but admired anyway. Not that she’d tell Holly that anyway, but it was definitely an intriguing part of her at the very least.

Gail tilted her head to the side in order to get a better view of watching Holly work; she’d just unbuttoned the guy’s shirt. Why, Gail didn’t know but Holly obviously knew what she was doing anyhow. The shirt opened to show a relatively unremarkable and hairy torso, but there was a patch of hair missing just below the left side of his chest. Holly’s brow furrowed, and she leaned in to examine it a little closer.

It was honestly quite enjoyable - if enjoyable was the right word to use - to watch Holly at work, to see her so invested and intelligent about putting together the puzzle of someone’s death. Gail loved hanging out with Holly at home or wherever they might end up on one of their dates, but she hadn’t really experienced her Holly at the crime scene all that much. Sure, she’d walked in mid-way a few autopsies but that wasn’t the same thing. It was strange, but not in the least bit unpleasant.

Gail jolted when Frank drew up beside her, seemingly finished with his argument. She stood up straight.

He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face grimly as he saw the dead man before him. He folded his arms as he ran his eyes over his former colleague. If Gail had known her boss better, she might have noticed a flicker of sadness behind his stoic mask. 

He cleared his throat and addressed Holly. “What can you tell us?”

Holly looked up, her face a mask of pure professionalism. “Judging by the fully fledged rigor mortis I’d estimate he’s been dead for about twelve or fourteen hours. He died around midnight last night.”

She pointed to the head wound. 

“The shot to the head here looks like a large fire arm, maybe 45 calibre, and due to the cranial damage to the back of his head, the shot was likely at close range.” Holly paused but when no one questioned her she carried on and gestured to the bare patch on the victim’s chest. “These abrasions here left a few tape fragments. He had something strapped to his chest, what however, I don’t know.”

“A wire. He was wearing a wire.” Frank’s jaw tightened and he exhaled heavily. “His name’s Jack Donnelly. Thirty one. Had a wife and two kids. Was a damn good detective.”  
Holly looked at him sympathetically. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Frank grunted his thanks and exhaled again. “So, it looks like they knew about his wire then.” He squared his shoulders and nodded to Holly before walking back into the middle of the warehouse. “All right people, hustle up!”

A tentative hush fell as people gathered around him. “I want every available cop and detective down here working the streets on this case. Get everyone from headquarters. The only cop I want there is the one manning the front desk until further notice. This man- Jack, was one of us.” He cleared his throat. “And clearly the people who killed him have no problem killing again, so that means you guys be careful and you all come back in one piece. No argument.”

A murmur of agreement rose from the amassed officers but Frank hadn’t finished. “One last thing. Jack was in a deep undercover drug-bust op. So keep an eye out for any drug related matters. And Diaz-,” Chris stood a little straighter beside Gail. “You’re transporting the evidence.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Frank looked about the collective force. “Dismissed.”

The amassed group turned to leave when a door slammed open and a heated voice ripped through the air. “You!” A tall, Caucasian woman marched in angrily pointing a finger at Frank. “You!”

Oliver went to step in. “Hey Laurie wait.” 

But she shoved him aside until two more officers held her back but she fiercely carried on speaking, almost spitting at Frank. “If you kept us together on this case Jack wouldn’t be dead!”

She furiously pushed the officers back but didn’t move to confront Best again, instead she jabbed another finger at him. “You’d better have a good reason for sending him in alone. You better have a fucking good reason because he’s dead because of you!” She then span round and pushed her way through the crowd towards her partner’s dead body. This time nobody tried to stop her.

Losing your partner was a business no one on the police force would want to experience, ever. It was like losing a person you know so intimately and relied on so heavily that you don’t know just how much you used them as a crutch until they were torn away from you. They were essentially your person, the one you trusted implicated above all others, aside from any romantic significant others.

Holly moved back so to give the woman some space to grieve and very briefly caught Gail’s eyes, and for a second Gail caught a flicker of worry and compassion in the depths of her eyes but she turned to pack up her forensic ‘lunchbox’ before she could make sure. 

Frank quietly dismissed everyone again and this time the crowd really did disperse and all collectively went about their tasks. Chris headed towards Holly, who had subtly moved away from the crime scene, with Gail not far behind; they were partners today after all. She picked up the last of their short conversation as Holly passed Chris the evidence bags.

“We’ll probably see you at the station then.” Chris gestured to the forensics bag in Holly’s hand. “You look like you’re getting ready to go.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, well there isn’t much for me to do at the moment. Usually I’d be gathering samples but someone else has already done that for me, so now I’d be more useful back at the lap, prepping for his autopsy.” Holly glanced over his shoulder to see Gail. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Holly cleared her throat and looked at Chris. “Do you mind if I talk to Gail for a second?"

“Uh, sure. I’ll see you at the car, Gail.”

Gail opened her mouth to speak but Holly held up a hand to stop her. “I know you’re going to say it’s your job, and that you’ll be okay and that I shouldn’t worry, but I just-, be safe okay? It- It’s just that, well last time this happened, Sam and Chloe, they… And, and if these guys knew and willingly killed a cop, I don’t know if-” 

She sighed grabbed Gail’s hand in her own, public eyes be damned. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I mean, we just agreed to move in together and I, well it’s not just that, I’m always worried about you, but our relationship has just moved up a step and I don’t want to lose you-“ 

“Holly.” 

“Or for you to get hurt at all-”

“Holly!” Holly stopped herself but her forehead was still apprehensively creased and her usually warm, brown eyes were wide with concern.

Gail’s eyes glanced about her but no-one appeared to be paying any attention to them. In fact most people were too busy trying to surreptitiously and simultaneously watch Oliver talk to the grieving woman whilst going about their jobs to pay attention to them. 

“Holly, I’ll be Okay, I promise. I have no plans on going to the hospital at all. I’ll be with Chris all day and we’ll look out for each other, just like we always do.” She squeezed Holly’s hand, smiling lightly when she got a squeeze back. “Besides, with the whole of 15 on this case, we’ll be done by dinner, easy.”

Holly smiled weakly but the worry didn’t dissipate from her eyes. She sighed and let go of Gail’s hand to hold her bag with both hands. “Okay, okay well, I guess I’ll see you back at the morgue then? You know, for the evidence.”

“Yeah, probably. And I’ll definitely see you tonight.” 

Holly nodded smiled again, a little stronger this time. She looked as if she wanted to say something else but restrained herself at the last second. “I’ll see you later then.”  
She then hesitantly walked away, presumably off to her car.

Gail followed her out but caught the last few words from Ollie as she passed. “Come on Laurie; let’s get you to the station.” She didn’t think much of it; it was probably a good thing Ollie was taking her away from the scene.

Gail walked back to her car where Chris was waiting, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “We good to go?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

He started the engine and pulled out on to the road. “Must be nice to have someone care that much about you.”

“Oh God, do not go all weepy on me, Diaz.”

“I wasn’t! I was just-; it must be nice is all. To have someone like that.”

Gail grunted her agreement but didn’t reply, because it was nice. She liked how Holly made her feel, even if she was still getting used to dealing with her emotions. It was great knowing that Holly cared. But she couldn’t be bothered to go into that with Chris, not today at least, he was still in his age long dry spell.

The radio cracked into life for the second time. “1504, we have another domestic dispute call over at 64 Richmond Street West.”

Gail rolled her eyes and huffed irritably. “Haven’t those idiots made up yet?” She picked up the radio. “1504, is there no one else available for this? We’re transporting evidence.”  
Whilst Frank had ordered all of 15 to work on this new case there still had to be a few cars out on patrol of incidents such as this. 

“Negative 1504, you’re the nearest vehicle by a ten mile radius.”

Gail and Chris exchanged a look and an understanding fell between them. The evidence would have to wait a while longer. “1504, we’re responding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was Okay and you enjoyed it. Please tell me if something appears to be out of characters or if there are any errors, I’d love to improve any way I can.
> 
> Edit: Someone had just pointed out that I'm taking the plot and dialogue from another TV - Rizzoli and Isles, and I know I am, I put that in the disclaimer at the beginning and I said that I'd put the full disclaimer at the end of the story so that the story may not be ruined for a person. Believe me, I am not trying to steal material, I'm just using it to help me get through to my own material. Whilst I will be using the vague guidelines of a particular episode I will not be copying it completely. I hope that my own content will supersede it.
> 
> So, I'm sorry if you know which episode that I'm talking about, but don't worry, the story will be my own in the end. Like I said. I will give a full disclaimer at the end, and I'll likely repeat this message in the coming chapters so people get the message.
> 
> Sorry about that.
> 
> You guys ready for some shit to go down?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 – You’re In My Spot  
> Disclaimer:  
> Please look at the first chapter for disclaimer, or the previous. Also, I’m incredibly sorry for the long update BUT I have a good reason. I recently moved from England to California, so there was a lot of packing up, finishing business and saying good bye to friends and such like to do. Don’t even get me started on the jetlag, holy fuck. Though I’m just saying – for anyone that might plan on going to California in the future, put on sun cream (or sun block, whatever) I got sunburnt on my first day, because you know, I’m a smart cookie.  
> So basically, that’s the excuse I’m using for this late update. That and I’m fantastic at procrastinating. Please accept my apologies, and enjoy.

Oliver Shaw set the coffee machine on and then sagged against the counter side. He needed a moment. In fact, he needed lot of moments. Laurie Clark had just finished taking him through her past history and interactions with Donnelly and if he were truly honest he just wasn’t ready for the amount of pain she so visibly felt, despite all his experience.

He sighed and dug his fingers into his forehead, smoothing out the creases as if to relieve the pressure. Momentarily he wondered just how many new crinkles he’d gained over the past few months. The road sure as hell hadn’t been smooth for a while. Maybe he’d ask Celery for some kind of concoction. He shook his head, but that wasn’t the point right now.

He wasn’t lying when he’d offered Clark a coffee earlier, the percolating granules behind him illustrated the fact, but he needed a place to hide, to pick himself up so to speak. And right now the kitchen area was that place. A four walled, barely decorated refuge that gave him the space to just breathe. 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t sympathetic for the woman, quite the opposite in fact; he’d been hurting alongside her all the way through their interview. Watching her tear herself up over Donnelly reminded him of just how painfully Jerry had been taken away.

He sighed again and looked back over at Laurie. For all her pain, she seemed to have managed to hold onto some semblance of reality, rather than immediately sinking into her grief. Compartmentalisation they called it; the ability to divert your attention from a painful reality to focus on more critical priorities.

The coffee machine beeped behind him, alerting him that it’d finished. As he reached for two mugs a soft knock came from the door way. 

“Hey Oliver?” Chloe offered a quick smile. “Hi, uh, we’ve got a witness, a crack addict. We picked him up legging it away from the scene.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, Nick’s handling him right now.” 

Oliver stopped his hand mid-pour. “That’s great. Which room?” 

“Interrogation room C. Oh and hey Ollie? I uh,” She cleared her throat, her eyes flickering from him to Laurie’s form and back again, and stepped just inside the room. “Are you guys doing okay?”

“Yeah, yeah we just finished up. We- she’s not doing so well though.” 

“God, yeah. I don’t know what I would do if it were one of our guys.” – “Did she say anything that could help us? About Donnelly?”

Oliver leant back against the counter again and crossed his arms. “Nothing seemed too out of norm for them until about a month ago. Apparently he started being secretive, doing things without telling her; keep her out of the loop, that sort of thing.” He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, wishing to God that his next words weren’t going to be true. “She thinks he might have become dirty.”

That put a brief pause on Chloe. Her brow furrowed. “But he was wearing a wire, right? That means he’s on our side. I mean, why bother wearing a wire if you’re on their side?”  
“I don’t know, maybe he was playing both sides. It’s all speculation at this point.” His eyes settled over to the hunched figure out in the next room. “All we really have is that Clark hasn’t seen him properly for a while and, well, it’s a possible trail to follow.” 

Chloe followed his gaze and saw the woman take out her phone, look at the name on the screen for a few seconds and sag just a little more into herself before raising the cell to her ear. Slowly she rose; sombrely signalling to them that she’d take the call else-where. 

In the fleeting second where Chloe saw her face she was taken back. She knew it had to hurt to lose a partner, more than hurt, devastate. But actually seeing the quiet agony on Clark’s face, seeing the deep lines of sadness and watching those watery, pale, grey eyes close and sharp jaw clench sent aching pangs of compassionate misery through her heart. “…Is she going to be okay? Is there something we can do?”

He watched Clark shuffle away into the nearby empty Parade room as he answered. “Yeah, she will, in time you know? But,” He pulled his arms a little tighter around himself.  
“Donnelly’s wife called her whilst we were talking, and that-” He nodded to the Parade room. “That’s probably her again. And I just…” He unfolded one arm to rub at his eyes and exhaled heavily. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone cry so hard down the phone line, you know? I haven’t even seen Jack in months and I was- I don’t know how she managed to keep it together for her. She doesn’t seem the time to just break down crying in public.”

A hand gently squeezed his arm just above the elbow and he looked up to see Chloe’s sympathetic face. “Well, if she needs anything, we’ll be here for her. You know, with a hug or a shoulder to cry on, or whatever works for her.”

“Yeah, yeah. We will.” He cleared his throat and turned back to the coffee machine, tapping out a quick rhythm on the counter top with his knuckles. “Hey, want some coffee?”

Chloe’s phone vibrated and she pulled it out as she answered. “Yes please- Hey Dov! What’s up? - What, are you serious? - Oh God, how many? - Okay, yeah, yeah. I’ll pass that on to Oliver. See you later. Bye!”

Chloe smiled down at her phone for a moment but then become serious again. “Okay, so that was Dov. He says that they’ve found more dead bodies around the warehouse and the surrounding areas. They’re still counting them up though.”

Oliver ran a hand through his balding hair. “Shit. These guys mean business then, huh.” He looked back at the coffee machine and then towards the Parade room. He took a step towards the door before twisting round to address Chloe again. “Sorry Price, you’re on coffee duty then. Can you bring two for us? I need to interview this new guy.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

He nodded is thanks and exchanged a quick smile with her before striding away, meeting Clark just outside who’d just finished with her call and was staring morosely at it.  
“Hey, you okay?”

She smiled wanly but it didn’t quite reach her red tinged eyes. Her voice was a quiet, as if talking normally might be too jarring “Yeah, I uh… That was Ellie again. She’s not taking his death so well either.”

He nodded because he knew what it was like. He really did. He lowered his voice to match hers. “Hey, you know what? I hear hugs are a great way to deal with something like this.” Then he opened his arms a beckoned with his hands. “Come on, you’ll feel better.”

“I don’t really… do that kind of thing.”

“You know, you don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s okay to need someone else for once.” A few seconds passed and she debated his words but then she moved forward and into his embrace, for forehead dropping onto his shoulder. His arms immediately drew her in and rubbed soft circles on her back. Short, dark locks fell forward from behind her ear, easily curtaining around her face, helping, if but for a short moment to, for her to hide from the world.

She didn’t return his hug, letting her hands to just drop down to the floor, but just leaned against him which didn’t bother him in the slightest; sometimes people just needed to take comfort rather than give it, even if it was from a friendly colleague acquaintance. 

Seconds later she pulled away and cleared her throat self-consciously. “Thanks, I didn’t know I needed that.”

“Don’t mention it.” He smiled momentarily but the sombre atmosphere had already returned. It stilled the conversation. “I’m really so sorry.”

She sighed heavily. “Yeah. Me too.” She turned away for a second, before immediately turning back again. “Hey, can you tell Frank I’m sorry? I didn’t really handle myself back there, the crime scene I mean. I know it’s not his fault.”

“He knows that. But yeah, I’ll tell him.” She nodded in acceptance but didn’t say anything.

“Hey.” Her eyes flickered back up to him. “You know what else is great way of dealing with this?”

She eyed him with a sort of despondent wariness but the corner of her mouth tipped up ever so slightly. “You’re not going to hug me again are you?”

He ignored that. “Talking to witnesses. That’s what. Come on, Price and Collin’s brought one in. Wanna come?”

Her eyes perked up but her shoulders stayed drooped as if she didn’t quite believe him. “We have a witness, so soon?”

“Uh huh. I’m assuming you want in?”

“Yeah, please.”

“Alright then. This way.”

 

**********************************************

 

Marie Sanders was a month away from retirement.

She was a mild lady, middle aged by most standards with grey hair just becoming visible in a few wisps of her roots and had deep set laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. She had the kind of face where there were no hard jaw lines, sharp noses or piercing eyes, just lightly round softness and sincerity where aging was just starting to become visible. It was a kind of face where a person might just unconsciously associate it with the nice grandma who always had cookies to give away, accept younger.

She sighed reached inside the draw at the front desk and took out an apple, the last snack she’d brought with her today, and placed it on her desk. Usually her snack store lasted until at least 3pm, but today was a slow day, and slow days called for copious eating to try and at least elevate some of the tediousness of riding the front desk. So far there’d been only two people to sign in and lock up; a drunk and disorderly man who was to sleep off his inebriation before anything else, and a crack addicted witness brought in by Officers Price and Collins. It was a very slow day indeed.

Her attention caught immediately when the front door opened and a man strode in, his eyes scanning the area briefly before falling on her. He was of the average sort with short, brown hair covering his head and a light ‘its-been-a-few-days’ stubble across his face, dressed in some non-descript jeans and a t-shirt. If she thought about it, he almost looked like her son, in the right light anyway.

He met her short yet polite smile with a quick one of his own as she rose to greet him. He stuck a hand in his pocket and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. His voice had an Australian husk. “Hey, sorry mate but there ain’t no place to park me truck is there? I only need it for about an hour.”

Her brow shot up in surprise but didn’t comment on it. “Sure, out the door, turn left and up three blocks. There should be a car park around there.” She sighed inwardly; it looked as if it was going to continue to be a long day.

“Right, thanks.” He nodded and smiled his thanks before turning back out the door. Just as he reached the door he spun back on his heel, whipped out a handgun from the back of his trousers and fired three shots into her chest and neck.

She jerked backwards and fell back against the wall behind her with a thud. She slid down, smudging the blood splatter against the wall as she slumped lifelessly to the floor.  
The man lowered his weapon before reaching into his pocket and sending a quick text. Not ten seconds later and no more than a score of men streamed through the precinct front doors wheeling large suit cases. These were rapidly opened and the semi-automatics inside were quickly distributed and the suitcases discarded to one side and kicked out of the way. 

In the mean-time the man had taken Marie’s own service weapon and tucked it into his back pocket before addressing the company before him. “You know what we’re for. We’re to be in and out in ten minutes, yah hear? No fucking about.” He pointed his fingers at his men as he gave his orders. “You! Kill the power. You five, go to the roof and take out the antenna and junction box and then keep your eyes on the streets. We don’t need any fucking surprises.” They ran to do their tasks as he spoke.

“You! Set up a phone channel and then block it. And you two, you’re with me.” The two aforementioned men nodded and moved to stand by him and the third ran ahead to set up the link. “The rest of you split up and cover the exits. No one gets in and no one gets out. Now move!”

Immediately the gunmen siphoned off into their groups and moved off closely followed by the man in charge only to be pulled by a voice calling his name. “Hey, Rhys. What about her?” 

Rhys looked down at the woman he’d shot and then roughly kicked her back under the desk, making sure all her limbs were out of sight. “Done. And don’t fucking call my name here you fuckwit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t like this chapter and I’m not sure I’ve got all the characters actually in character, but alas, without a beta this is the best I can do. If you feel something needs changing, do please tell me.  
> I’m sorry for the lack of Golly, but I couldn’t think of a good enough reason for them to randomly pop up and this chapter was actually needed to move on with the plot.  
> Again, please look at the previous chapter for disclaimer/ why I might be borrow plot points from a different show.  
> P.S – I have absolutely no idea how the precinct is laid out so bear with me on that.


End file.
